Moving Washington State toward zero carbon emissions

News

Just days after its introduction, a Carbon Washington-backed bill promoting sustainable farming has accumulated a powerful and bipartisan list of sponsors in the Legislature. Senate Bill 5947, the Sustainable Farms and Fields Grants bill provides financial assistance to farmers and ranchers that adopt changes in management practices that reduce fossil fuel inputs and increase the quantity of carbon stored on their land.

Introduced in both chambers with Democratic and Republican backing on Feb. 15, the bill now has 16 sponsors representing an equal number of legislators in each party.

With agriculture accounting for about 10% of nationwide carbon emissions, and with farmers on the front lines of climate related events like heat waves and droughts, it is critical to invest in sustainable farming practices. Carbon Washington, along with the American Farmland Trust and the Washington Association of Conservation districts, has made passage of this bill a top priority, conducting outreach and research to support the legislative process. Other organizations that support the bill include the American Farmland Trust, Tulalip Tribe, PCC Community Markets, WA Dairy Federation, Washington Forest Protection Association, Audubon Washington, and The Nature Conservancy. (more…)

Want to keep track of all the climate legislation being considered in Olympia? Thanks to longtime Carbon Washington supporter Thad Curtz, that’s now easy.

Curtz has created a blog called “Climate at the Legislature.” It includes a detailed page about each bill (easily found via search), calendars for hearings and other events, and a host of “push” features, including emails and calendar updates.

Curtz retired after 35 years on the faculty of Evergreen State College, where he taught literature and developmental psychology. In addition to Carbon Washington, he supports Audubon, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Greenpeace, the Sierra Club and other organizations.

Carbon Washington’s Bill Boyd talked with Curtz about how and why he set up the blog:

CarbonWA: Thad, how’d you get the idea for this?

Thad Curtz: One of my state representatives — Beth Doglio — invited constituents to come to a meeting about what was coming up in the session. She wanted to do more to keep people up to date about what’s going on in the legislature. CarbonWA’s Greg Rock was also saying we need something to help grassroots people track and summarize bills. I had done a lot of work on websites for political candidates and nonprofits, so I set up shop to make it happen. This seemed like a good way to be useful. (more…)

"Warren Washington, who's 82 years old, has been awarded the 2019 Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement — an award sometimes described as the 'Nobel Prize for the environment.'"
#WarrenWashington #ClimateChange

"Sustainable investing is already a $12 trillion market in the U.S... data from BloombergNEF show that global issuance of green bonds rose to $600 billion last year."
#SustainableInvesting #GreenInvesting #Renewable
https://t.co/MlgZUbzVZr

What People Are Saying About Reducing Carbon Pollution

“I’m a Republican. I believe that the greenhouse effect is real, that CO2 emissions generated by man is creating our greenhouse gas effect that traps heat, and the planet is warming. A price on carbon — that’s the way to go in my view.”

—
Lindsey Graham, United States Senator, R-SC

A carbon tax is a good starting point for working toward eventual state and federal agreements that put a price on carbon emissions. If national elder statesmen in the Republican Party can take this idea seriously, so should other Republicans in our statehouse and in Congress. The same goes for Democrats.

—
The Olympian

"Climate change is the biggest market failure of our time. If the United States is to continue to lead and innovate, we must move away from fossil fuels and focus on developing clean, inexpensive, renewable energy sources. A price on carbon is the best policy to promote this change."

—
Jim McDermott, Former U.S. Representative (D-WA 7th District)

Scientists and economists agree that the most effective way to free ourselves from fossil fuels is to stop the free lunch for polluters.

—
Sightline Institute

"Only when 'the economic and social costs of using up shared environmental resources are recognized with transparency and fully borne by those who incur them, not by other peoples or future generations,’ [Pope Benedict XVI] can those actions be considered ethical."

—
Pope Francis, Encyclical Letter “Laudato si”

The optimal solution is a carbon tax (offset by equivalent tax cuts elsewhere) — the most efficient and market-friendly way to address the negative externalities of energy use. But that approach is highly transparent and less susceptible to manipulation by special-interest lobbying than complicated regulatory schemes. No wonder it never gets any traction.

—
Richmond Times-Dispatch

“I think that climate change is real. I think that one of the great tragedies of our lives is the Great Barrier Reef dying [and] the environmental consequences of that."

—
John McCain, United States Senator (R-Arizona)

It is time for more of our elected leaders to join [Governor] Inslee, [and Senators] Carlyle and Palumbo in giving this major issue the attention and care it deserves.

—
Seattle Times Editorial, Feb. 5, 2018

"If national governments won't take action, your community can . . . We can move our economy town-by-town, state-by-state to renewable energy and a sustainable future." (Watch this dramatic video narrated by DiCaprio.)

—
Leonardo DiCaprio, Actor and environmentalist

Who We Are

Carbon Washington consists of students, businesspeople, scientists, retirees, activists and concerned citizens across the state. All of us believe that we have a moral obligation to reduce carbon pollution and promote clean, renewable energy.

In 2016, we mounted a statewide campaign to pass Initiative 732 — the revenue-neutral carbon tax we proposed. Economists say carbon taxes are the single-most effective way to get polluters to stop polluting.

Although the measure didn’t pass, more than 1.25 million Washingtonians voted in favor of I-732. In 2018, we supported Initiative 1631, another attempt to put a price on carbon that also fell short of the 50-percent mark.

Now we’re broadening our focus with a redefined vision and mission. We’re exploring legislative bills, ballot measures and other bipartisan approaches that make a meaningful difference while appealing to a broad array of citizens.

Are we effective? Former State Sen. Paul Graves says, “Reducing carbon pollution without harming jobs and families is a tough challenge. It requires thoughtfulness, a clear view of the evidence and the tradeoffs, and a willingness to work with people on both sides of the aisle and both sides of the state. I’m grateful to Carbon Washington for embodying those values.”

You can help us by signing up for our weekly email blast, connecting with us on Facebook and Twitter, and donating so we can do the hard work that needs to be done. You can also join one of our chapters across the state.